Feel Better - I Dare You
Hello and a big Happy New Year from southern Oregon! If you've been with me for some time, you know that I spend part of the year on the east coast of the US and I'm part-time on the west coast for the rest of the year. I just completed one of the fastest cross-country drives I've ever done in the seven years of going back and forth. I normally take my time, stop and visit with friends, zig-zag a bit and take no less than two or three weeks for my journey. This year, however, I had a commitment to stay in Boston until the end of December and another to arrive in Jacksonville, Oregon, no later than January 7. It was a little daunting and would not have been my preferred way to make the trip. There were many loooooong days of driving and not enough time to fully appreciate my stops until I decided to find a way to feel better about what I had chosen to do. Any ONE of these would have improved my journey and together they combined to make it a great trip.
I stayed ahead of the weather, checking at least twice a day. I missed snow storms and extreme cold and I relaxed into changing my route.
I felt "badly" about asking dear friends to just put me up for the night instead of having a few days to play and had planned on not visiting at all (almost fell for the "all or nothing" trap). Then, I realized these stops were going to be about quality not quantity and I fell in love all over again with some of the dearest people in my life.
I remained flexible and by looking for loopholes I found them! For example, this meant sometimes staying for breakfast instead of rushing out the door at 5am every morning.
I committed to feeling better and not being a martyr or beating myself up about my choice to only have a fairly short amount of time for this trek.
Sometimes we can get caught up in thinking that if something is difficult and feels miserable, it must be more worthwhile or be more valid. We can mistake not feeling good for having more legitimacy, maybe even making us feel more important -- something we can either boast about or get sympathy for. I'm here to tell you, after years of going down that path, that it's not true. The better we feel, the happier we are, the more we attract the same, and we can give others "permission" to also feel better. Be care-full and don't fall for the option of suffering.
Happy Healthy Habit Hump Day,
